Outside the Beltway

Jordan Suicide-Bombers Include Husband and Wife Team

James Joyner · Friday, November 11, 2005 · 5 comments

The al-Qaeda terrorists who murdered 56 people in Amman, Jordan included what is believed to be the first-ever husband and wife suicide bomber team.

Expert: Suicide-Bomb Couple May Be a First (AP)

Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Friday that four Iraqis, including a husband and wife, carried out the suicide bombings against three Amman hotels, and police arrested 120 Jordanians and Iraqis in the hunt for anyone who might have aided them. If their involvement is confirmed, the husband and wife would be the first married couple yet known to take part in a suicide bombing, a top Israeli counterterrorism expert said.

[…]

The al-Qaida statement said all the bombers “are Iraqis from the land between the two rivers,” alluding to Iraq’s ancient name, Mesopotamia. “They vowed to die and they chose the shortest route to receive the blessings of God,” it said. It was not possible to authenticate the claim, but it appeared on a site that has included past al-Qaida statements, including Thursday’s claim of responsibility. The statement, signed by group spokesman Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, said the four included a woman “who chose to accompany her husband to his martyrdom.”

[…]

Boaz Ganor, a counterterrorism expert at a private Israeli think tank, said the married couple would be the first husband-and-wife team yet known to have been involved in a suicide bombing. Relatives of Palestinian bombers have helped plan attacks without sacrificing their own lives

The family that kills together, dies together.